Baby Girl: 13 Unforgettable Aaliyah Shots [Photos]

R&B lost a real star in Aaliyah, it’s even hard to imagine where music would be if she were still here. Today (Aug. 25) marks 13 years since the then 22-year-old singer lost her life in a plane crash.

As the story goes, Aaliyah wanted to get back home early from her “Rock the Boat” video shoot in the Bahamas, so she and much of her crew hopped on a small chartered plane back to the U.S. Only they never made it. The plane nosedived and burst into flames roughly 200 feet after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

The words “gone to soon” couldn’t be more fitting here. The Brooklyn- born, Detroit-raised singer —affectionately known as “Baby Girl”–was well on the rise. With three albums to her name, Aaliyah introduced us to a style all her own both in her fashion, her voice, and the way that she took to choreography. She was truly one of a kind.